Stories for August 20, 2009

Kevin Whately returns as Detective Inspector Robbie Lewis in the spin-off to the popular "Inspector Morse" series. Lewis is back in Oxford following the tragic death of his wife and cracking cases with his sharp young sidekick, DS Hathaway (Laurence Fox, "Becoming Jane"). Lewis and Hathaway take on murder mysteries that draw them into the underbelly of celebrity, ambition and sexual politics of the Oxfordshire elite. When a North Oxford housewife, Rachel Mallory, is found hanged at home, it appears to be an open and shut case of suicide. However, the lack of a note and the fact that Rachel's life seemed perfect makes Lewis skeptical.

With control of the health care debate slipping from his grasp, President Barack Obama pitched his ambitious plan to both conservative talk radio and his own liberal supporters Thursday - and denied a challenge from one backer that he was "bucklin' a little bit" under Republican criticism.

The California Senate, after a highly charged debate, approved a plan Thursday to trim the state's prison population by 27,000 inmates, acting over the objections of Republican lawmakers and law enforcement groups.

The California Public Utilities Commission today temporarily blocked San Diego Gas & Electric's plan to shut off power to parts of the county during periods of high winds to prevent wildfire. The CPUC voted 3-to-2 to issue a temporary restraining order preventing SDG&E from implementing the shut-off plan until the regulatory body has a chance to fully review the proposal.

Stewart Copeland may be best known as the drummer for the legendary 80s rock band The Police, but he's also a composer for both film and orchestra. In 2009, La Jolla SummerFest presented Copeland's world premiere of his latest composition for percussion.

The superintendent of the San Diego Unified School District has been chosen to be the next chief of the Houston Independent School District. The Houston school board announced the choice of Terry Grier today.

If the tide is high, the weather is warm, the clock is approaching midnight and the beach you're standing on is in Southern California, it's a given that romance is in the air - or the water. In these parts, it's a time for grunion love.

The Great Depression was a worldwide economic downturn that lasted for a decade for some countries, including the U.S. We'll look at what life was like - especially for women - during the 1930s in San Diego.

A husband-and-wife contracting team pleaded guilty today to paying married warfare systems officials thousands of dollars to land government contracts for their company, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.

What happens to those half-finished construction projects when they are abandoned by the developer? The properties are often times handed over to a receiver, who is tasked with managing the distressed property and eventually producing some form of income for the lender. We speak to Doug Wilson about what he does as a receiver, and about why his business is booming right now.

Election officials in Afghanistan kept the polls open for an extra hour today, after fears of violence evidently kept many potential voters from participating. Despite a massive military and police presence to protect the balloting, the day was marred by sporadic attacks by Taliban militants.

Forget about "Twilight" and "True Blood," with their pasty vampires mooning over silly human girls. Instead go see "Thirst" (opening August 21 at Landmark's Ken Cinema), a truly twisted tale of sin, redemption, and vampires from South Korea. You can listen to my radio feature, read the extended review, or watch a video of my interview with Park Chan-Wook.

The head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement says agents will continue to make so-called "collateral" arrests of illegal immigrants they come across as they search for others who've ignored deportation orders.